The Veridan Seer

An ongoing indepth review series, focusing on a single game over an extended period.

Author: vesavius

First off, let me say my background is very much classic EQ onwards. I personally enjoy well built challenging traditional MMORPGs with a strong co-op group play element, believing that community only can come from strong group based game design and that community is what makes these games special. Yes, soloing should be there, but for me I look for interdependent play as the games focus.

I am not personally overly interested in casual or ez mode games. I like risk vs reward based play and death penalties. I like bosses that drop random loots and I like a certain level of grind as my group hunts these bosses for that loot.

I also, ideally, like my MMOs to have more open sandbox elements then Aion offers, but I get that isnt what Aion is designed to be about so I won't hold it to account for being a themepark quester.

Though I like Aion a lot, I wouldnt class myself as a 'fanboi' (as much as I hate the lazy over use of that term), and I am not blind to it's flaws. Saying this, I refuse to hate a game for not being what it isnt trying to be, nor hate a game because it dosent happen to fulfill my personal demands.

I will judge Aion on what it is, not hate it for what it isnt.

I am playing no other MMORPG right now, and have no agenda in promoting one or putting down another, even Aion.

OK, that said, heres what i think of my first 20 levels. I play as Elyos on the EU Spatalos server;

OVERVIEW

I have had fun and I am enjoying it. I have also been frustrated at times, but thats mostly to do with the nature of a new MMO and the headstart. I have also been annoyed by the way NCSoft have handled things, but more of that later.

Aion, IMO, is, so far, a traditional (in the best sense of the word) MMORPG. If you don't want that, don't bother trying it.

It isnt revolutionary in it's quest systems, they are the same that I have been seeing for a long time in these games, and it dosent set the world alight with it's NPC dialogue, but there is definitly something in it that has captured me and the quest cut secenes are a nice touch for flavour.

Actually, at this time, I think it's the 'flavour' and atmosphere that has drawn me in to this game... It's just soaked in it. As linear as levels 1-20 are in Aion, it's really not a journey I mind being taken along on... The campaign quests are spinning a decent tale out that is leading me through this story and I am having fun. Whether I would want to play through it (on the Elyos side) more then twice I don't know... i could see myself being very bored the third time. For sure, I can to go to another server to try the Asmodian side of things, but I might not want to.... I personally get attached to the server I am on. We will see.

PERFORMANCE

Aion, on the whole, has performed stunningly. From the second I logged in amongst a stack of people on the first day of headstart it has run smoothly and the general implementation has been great.

Except for the lag at primetime.

Lag on my server, Spatalos, has been insane the past few days around peak time and the game becomes pretty much unplayable for a hour or so. This obviously isnt excusable and needs addressing asap. Add this issue to the fact that people are logging in after 2 hours of queuing into a a lagged out game and you have a problem.

Those that have already purchased simply arnt getting the service they have paid for.

ART & MUSIC

Both are simply beautiful.

The game world has a magical and otherworldy feel to it that 99% of the MMOs I have played havent managed to capture and the art direction is often stunning. The environments are imaginative and inspired, with more then a few 'wow' moments where you feel like a rubber necked tourist as you take yet another screen shot.

Full marks here then, with special credit to the avatars which are very well realised and really come to life through their emotes and idle animations.

The only downside are the fugly speech bubbles that are everywhere from all the private player shops that are EVERYWHERE. It can be dissapointing... sometimes it feels like have climbed Everest only to find a Tescos at the top... This needs fixing imo.

CHALLENGE & CO-OP PLAY

Pretty much from 1-18ish Aion can be soloed.

Of course, this means it IS pretty much soloed (people being what they are) and are used by most as an extended tutorial where players learn what their class is actually about and their place in the world. Despite this, it is still challanging, and the death penalty gets more harsh with every level, though the game has many player tools (quest tracker, location giver etc) that take the edge off things if one bothers to learn how to use them.

I am very glad to see that the game is now featuring more and more group content now though. This to me is a great thing. It wont be to the solo crowd, I get that and understand that they will hate this game for it, but it is to me and it should be to anyone willing to build in game relationships and find their place in a server community.

I have no doubt that as I rise in levels this trend will continue, especially once I hit the Abyss.

This is a good thing.

The game itself isnt massively hard... but nor is it easy mode. It hits it right on the majority of the time I think, with some areas being particularly unforgiving and the death penalty adding a sting to failiure.

Overall, a really nice balance of tension vs chill.

COMMUNITY

General chat, so far, has been ok, with a lot of good people being really helpful and friendly, though the racists and bigots out there are doing their best to ruin this and there are obvious trolls. They arnt hard to ignore though.

I won't let these screwed up people ruin my game, or my judgement of the community at large. It is also still very early days. We will see.

GRIND

Has it got grind? The short answer is yes, yes it has. Is it a problem amount of grind, meaning have I been bored with it? No, no it isnt.

I might enjoy grinding more then the next guy, I enjoy hanging out with my guild and farming areas for loot, XP, and quest objectives, but to me it's been fine.

The fact that the classes are so fun to fight with has a lot to do with this.

CRAFTING

Crafting? Well, I have dabbled, but thats it right now. So far crafting has been ridicously simple, but then my idea of a good system is original EQ2 or Vanguard. It's fine for what it is, and it has been well realised within the game with created items seeming to have a real value within the world, but there is little challenge in it. It's something I do when I feel like watching a movie.

SERVER QUEUES

Yes, they exist. Yes, they arnt fun. No, they shouldnt be anything like they are, no matter what excuses or reasons that NCSoft give. They knew how many pre orders they had sold, and they knew we were all fans that would want to play at the same time. This wasnt an unknown quantity that caught anyone by surprise and it shouldnt have been allowed to ruin what could have been a perfect launch.

At the very least, just to start, NCSoft need to remove Private Shops for the next month in order to significantly reduce the wait times. End of.

Add these queues to the lag issue and you have a situation where good will compensation is definitly required. You have a lot of angry players out there in forum land that need calming. This is a service we have paid for and, in a lot of cases, not properly received.

NCSoft need to take more action now in order to stop this ruining the chances of a great game in a very hostile market. At this time they are just giving the drama trolls and shills ammunition to ruin Aions rep by focusing on the bad and they need to stop that.

OVERALL

My overall opinion of Aion, based on lvls 1-20, is that it's a great great game thats experiencing some server/ handling issues caused by NCSoft right now. None of the problems I have are with Aion itself.

I am having a ton of fun both duoing it with the GF and grouping with the guild and others, and I can only see it getting better with what looks to be excellent PvP in the mix. I am loving the game, with all it's inspired attention to detail, and enjoying my time spent in it.

If you like story driven/ quest based traditonal co-op play MMORPGs that expect you to learn as you go then this game is a natural choice for you. Probably the best one you could make at this time. If you don't, not so much.

To put it short, Aion has that certain something that LotR (in terms of PvE), WAR, and AoC just didnt capture... It has, I guess, a 'soul'.

I can see myself with this game for the long haul, especially if NCSoft give it the love it deserves and carry on adding content like they have up until now.

8/10

It would be a great shame if the only conversation about this game became about the queues and lag, because it really is a gem if it is the type of thing that you are looking for.

Please, NCSoft, realise that REPUTATION is maybe a MMORPG's premium asset and that getting it right from day one is essential in these days of viral shilling. Give the trolls and shills an inch and they WILL drag you the full mile.

Don't let this great game become lost in the white noise of server problems at launch.